White Flames
by ninjawarrior077
Summary: Whitekit has been separated from his Mother at birth and is being brought up as a WindClan warrior. He is seemingly normal, until he meets a cat in his dream that tells him he is important and then an evil appears with an intent to kill him and all who stands in the way. What is this evil? And what is so important about this normal kit?


Chapter 1

The first thing I remember… I was warm… then felt very, very cold. There was something soft, yes, that was the source of the cold. I heard breathing, but this was hard breathing with an odd sound behind it, a sound that was desperate for relief. Yes, this moment I remember, it is my birth. The first time I felt the outside world. The panting I heard must have been my Mother, and there was another. That other voice was my Father, "That's it, you're doing fine!"

I heard my Mother scream with that same odd sound, only it was stronger. My Father picked me up by the scruff, sat me down and began to make my fur stand up with his tongue. I didn't know why he was doing that until I coughed up water and took in my first breath. Chilling air flowed into my lungs, hurting my throat. My Father was still licking me. The strokes made me feel warm and comforted. Once more he then picked me up again and dropped me by an even warmer space with a delicious scent. It made my mouth water and my belly growl. I was drawn to the smell, the closer I got, the stronger it was. I was right in front of the smell, I inched closer and tasted warm liquid on my tongue. It kept coming as I suckled at it.

"Snowkit, that should be his name. What about this one? I want you to decide."

My Father then spoke, "I think she should be named Hazelkit."

My mother chuckled, "Leafpaw will be so excited," I heard the name but I did not know who it belonged to. I also could not make any other sounds than small squeaks so it was impossible to ask anything. Though, so many questions were running through my head, _where am I, and what am I doing here? Why is it so cold? _And those were just a few.

Before long an overwhelming sense came over me and I yawned. Was this, tiredness? My Mothers' voice came again, "Aww, Snowkit," I felt a tongue lick the top of my head and my Mother's soft voice, "Rest now, little one. Hazelkit must have been starving, she's still hungry."

I yawned once more and got as close as I could to my Mother's belly. I was about to let sleep take me until my Father let out a cry of pain. I also heard a strange noise, a sort of cawing. There was a thud as my Father was knocked to the ground. I felt some sort of thin, sharp objects wrap around me and pierce through my belly. A sharp feeling sparked through my body and I tried to let out a cry of pain, but, again, it came as squeaks. Blood flowed out of me and I quickly felt light-headed, accompanied by the pain it was almost overwhelming.

Though all my vision was black I could feel a dark and eerie aura coming from the thing that had a hold of me. I turned my head and saw the creature clearly. It had eyes dark as the night, eyes that only wanted death and its large body was muscular and strong, its wings beating hard, making cold and sharp wind whip my body. Though the feet that held me were thin and harmless-looking they were much stronger than I was. I tried to break free of the claws but I had no effect on the tough skin.

It let out a screech that made my ears ring and my head pound. It was not long until the creature descended and I was dropped on the cold stuff once again, landing with a thud next to another that must have been my sister. I turned my head in all directions but I could not see it… until I looked upwards. It was right above me, landing on my throat and trying to choke me to death. It brought its face right up to mine and cried at me loudly, the breath of it stinking of rot.

"Get away from those kits!" it looked at where the voice was coming from and flew away in a panic, only to be brought down by something much heavier and mightier than it. I saw its head jerk and heard a crack, its head fell and body went limp, "Come on! We have to help them!"

Another voice said, "He's alive still, and what about the other?"

There was yet another voice, "She's okay, no injuries but a little shaken. Robinwing, go back to the Clan and get Swiftpaw ready to treat them."

The first voice was Robinwing, "I'll be there before you can say rabbit!" there were multiple thuds on the ground that got fainter as Robinwing left.

"Harepaw, I need you to take her."

Harepaw was the third voice, "Got it."

The voices quickly faded. I was tired, weak, hungry, bleeding… I knew I was dying. I had just came to this strange place and was going to leave it already. I was afraid, I was not ready to die, and, as if an answer to my plea, a bright light shone in the darkness. I knew it was someone. Someone who felt familiar, yet a stranger. A calming presence, yet energetic, "Please, you cannot give up yet. You are very important, did you not feel it when the nature around you trembled in excitement at your birth?" the light shone brighter, "Do not give up, you will survive if you only hold on a little longer!"

The light enveloped me. It was warm and soothing, it then faded and I lost consciousness.

I awoke and saw I was in the nursery. Why? Why was I having these dreams? A figure was standing in front of me, "He's awake, Runningwind! He's awake!" The one who spoke was about as young as I was and had a pelt with mixed colors of browns. It was my sister, Finchkit.

I heard another voice come from behind me, "Yes, I see that he is," I looked straight up at my acting mother, Runningwind. She had piercing blue eyes and a mottled grey pelt, "It's okay, little one. You're all right," she stroked me with her unusual-colored red tail.

_Why wouldn't I be all right? _Just then I felt a sharp pain in my belly, I still had not fully healed. I wrenched at the pain and heard Runningwind's voice, full of fear and desperation, "Swiftpaw, quickly, he needs some poppy seeds!"

Swiftpaw was the medicine cat. He was voice behind us sounded urgently, "Hold on! I'll be right there!" a cat hurriedly came to my side. I could make out his orange tabby tom figure, his green eyes full of worry, "Here, take only one," he held out his paw which had some of the small black seeds on it. I stuck my tongue on one and swallowed it. The pain began to ease and I felt tired, "No, you _must_ stay awake. Do you remember anything of what happened a few moons ago? Anything?"

In all truth, I couldn't remember anything before now so I just shook my head. Runningwind spoke once more, "He doesn't know anything, Swiftpaw. Never mind that, though," she looked at me, "Just try to remember if you can.

For the first time I noticed that there was a strangely familiar scent around me. I decided to follow it and another feeling of familiarity came with what I tasted, though I ignored the feeling as I was too hungry.

Over the next two moons I had spent my time lying about the den at Runningwind's belly. I knew I was weak and not likely to survive but I wasn't about to let the end come. I recognized the voice of Finchkit and felt her lightly poking me, "Whitekit… Whitekit," she whispered. I half-opened one eye and looked at her, "Wake up, Whitekit. Come on, Runningwind, Sandkit, Echokit and Larkkit are still asleep. We can explore the camp," I looked around and saw it was dark outside.

"Finch… kit, I'm… tired," I had been practicing talking when only Finchkit was around. Though, I was surprised, I had not been able to talk as well as I had just did.

Finchkit wasn't slow to bring my thoughts to words, "Whitekit, you talked," she gently rubbed her cheek against mine, "So, will you come outside with me?"

I had never seen the outside world before and it kept nagging at the back of my mind. I sighed and smiled at her, "…Y-yes Finchkit. I-I would like to… see it," I tried to stand, instantly feeling light-headed. I felt weak and shaky as I fell back to the ground, my belly hardly lifting from it. Finchkit propped me up against her and helped me stand, moving forward was the hardest part. I stumbled and tripped over my own paws but we made it to the entrance of the heather den in a few moments. What I saw next amazed me. A world of pure white lay before me.

"Finchkit… this is a-ama-zing." I looked upwards at the small white flakes slowly falling from the darkened sky. One landed on my nose and I sneezed.

Finchkit covered my mouth with her tail, "Shh, we don't want to wake anyone," I nodded and she uncovered my mouth, "Come on, this way," we started moving once more. I stepped on the white stuff and jumped from how cold it was, "Are you okay Whitekit?" a worried look was on her face. I shivered but nodded confidently. The worried look on her face turned to a happy one and she led me to a brown lump topped with the white stuff, "This is the stump where Featherstar announces stuff to everyone," she helped push me on the top of the stump and quickly followed after.

After she cleared a spot to sit did she speak, "Whitekit, look this way. Runningwind said the sun rises that way," she turned me to a certain spot over the many hills and gently pushed me to a sitting position. I hadn't noticed but I was numb all over from the cold, though, Finchkit seemed very excited and I didn't want to disappoint her.

"Runningwind said that the first sunrise she saw was like a fire in the sky. I've wanted to see that fire for three days now… but I didn't want to leave you for long," I turned her direction. She was looking down and frowning, "You looked so small and so hurt when I was able to see you. I'm glad you're okay, Whitekit," she looked up and her frown turned into a smile. Her eyes widened and were filled with wonder.

I turned back to where the sun was supposed to rise and saw the sky was turning pink. As the moments dragged on the fire in the sky gradually came. Pink followed by yellow, then orange, red and finally a big circle rose and made me feel warmer. This was the fire in the sky that Finchkit had promised, "Finchkit, i-it's wonderful," I saw a figure on my right emerge from a hole in the snow, "Who's that?"

Finchkit gasped and whispered, "Whitekit, hurry, we need to get back to the nursery, now!" she leaped down from the stump. I was about to leap down when my front paws slipped over the edge. As I started to fall I felt an intense pain in my belly, a pain that felt like I was being ripped open. I landed with a thump and Finchkit screamed in terror, "Runningwind help! Whitekit's bleeding!"

I couldn't move, the pain was too great. I recognized the scent of Runningwind and Swiftpaw. Swiftpaw's voice sounded urgent, "Whitekit, just stay still, I need to apply these cobweb," he put the cobweb on me, I whimpered from the sharply increasing pain, "Runningwind, take him to the medicine den, he's going to need nettle to stop his bleeding now," he ran off and Runningwind picked me up. I saw the white stuff had turned red where I once lay, a sour scent filling the air, mixing with Runningwind's fear scent was overpowering and her running to the medicine den didn't help with the sharp pain I felt. We went in and Runningwind set me down. I looked to the entrance and saw Finchkit running over to me, tears streaming heavily down her face, "Whitekit… I'm sorry."

Swiftpaw was frantically sorting some seeds and some other leaves, "Goldenrod, juniper berries, lavender, poppy seeds, marigold, raspberry leaf, nettle and tansy," he began chewing the goldenrod, marigold, raspberry leaf and tansy to make a poultice and started to lick it on my belly. He then took the nettle and removed the cobweb slightly to stick some in where I was bleeding then reapplied it.

He fed me a few poppy seeds and some juniper berries. Almost immediately I started to feel very sleepy and just before everything went black Swiftpaw offered a few last words of comfort, "Don't worry Runningwind, he'll be okay."

A feeling of warmth spread over me as I opened my eyes and found myself in a place very different from the den. It was a forested area, a canopy of leaves cast shadows that dappled the ground. Bushes formed a shelter around me and a bed of moss lay beneath. It felt awkward, being in a place so different from the cold, white-covered world. I lifted my head and looked out at the forest from an opening in the bushes. To my surprise there was another cat there. He was a mottled pale-grey tabby-tom. His eyes were a brilliant and clear pale blue and he had a long scar running down the left side of his skinny but lean-muscled body.

He spoke in a gentle voice, "Come on out, I will not harm you, Whitekit."

I was in shock, how could he have known my name? I stood and padded out of the bushes until I stood in front of him, "Who are you… a-and how do you know my name?"

"I am Jayfeather. I was the third previous medicine cat for ThunderClan, Morningfire is fourth my successor. As to why I know your name… I cannot tell you that yet but I can tell you that you are very important," he looked at me with a sad look, "You are dying, Whitekit."

I backed away from him, "No, no. I'm not dying I-I feel fine."

Jayfeather took a step forward, "That's just the problem, how could you feel fine if you just tore a wound open and are still bleeding out? You can't. It's a lot to take in, I know."

"_A lot_ to take in?! How could you know, you aren't bleeding, you look fine!"

He stared at me with a sadness, "Look closer, do you see anything different about me than the others you know?" it was then I noticed his pelt looked unlike any I've seen. It looked like he had the stars of the night sky in his pelt.

"I _am _dead Whitekit. I'll take you back," he picked me up and put me on his back, "I have led some back from StarClan's hunting grounds before and I can do it again," focusing his gaze towards the deepest part of the woodland Jayfeather stared moving.

I was almost in disbelief, how could someone who is dead be right in front of me and talking. I wondered what it felt like to be dead. Was it painful, knowing that you can never be alive? Or was it amazing, being free of pain and all other hurt? So many questions were running through my head now but I chose to ask, "You said something about StarClan, what is it?"

"StarClan, it is one of two places cats go when they die. I am part of StarClan. Don't you even start thinking about that other place I mentioned, you're too young to know what it really is."

"Can you tell me? _Please_?" I begged him. I knew I only had limited time with him so I wanted to ask him all I could.

He sighed, "I should have known a kit would ask even when they're told not to."

"I want to know, that way I know if I need to stay away from it."

He stopped and tasted the air. His eyes widened and the scent of fear hung ahead and I dug in my claws to prevent myself from being thrown off, "He looked back and ran faster, "We have to get you out of here Whitekit! He's coming after you!"

"Who?!" I heard a cawing overhead and saw the same raven as the one that took me away. He dived down, heading for me. Jayfeather dodged and the raven was forced to fly back into the air and try another dive. It came further and further down, this time keeping steadier and focusing on Jayfeather's every movement.

I felt a dark presence watching and looked to my right. I saw glowing green eyes and a shadowy figure in the shadows of the trees. A voice rang in my head, getting louder and louder.

_I _will _kill you, Whitekit. Even if I have to tear all those who protect you limb from limb! There will be no place for you to run, no place for you to hide that I won't be able to find you! You will die by my claws after you have suffered!_

I was paralyzed in fear. The voice was chilling and full of malice, full of hate. My breathing grew heavy as I was spiraling in panic. Whoever the voice was meant what it had told me, it meant it was going to kill me, "Jayfeather, I'm scared!"

"Whitekit, don't you be afraid of him! He can't harm you as long as she is watching over you!"

I hardly heard him, "H-he's going to kill me!" Tears started to stream down my face and my vision clouded.

Jayfeather turned his head and glared at me, teeth bared and nose scrunched, eyes burning with a fire of anger, "Whitekit, that's enough!" I jumped, I had never seen someone so angry, "I will die again before I let him even lay his tail-tip on you! Just watch the raven, I can't keep my eyes on it and the path ahead at the same time!"

I nodded and shook the tears from my eyes, feeling new determination and confidence swell within me. I focused my gaze on the bird just as it started to dive for me again, "It's coming again, keep going Jayfeather!"

"Whitekit, just hang on, don't do anything stupid," his fear faded almost immediately, "There it is Whitekit! We're almost safe!" I looked ahead and saw two trees intertwined with each other to form half of a circle and a bright light inside it, "Whitekit, you might not see me again but at least you won't be taken!" I didn't know what he meant by 'taken' and I didn't get the chance to ask. He grabbed me by the scruff and threw me into the light.


End file.
